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Astrid S– real name Astrid Smeplass – has already bagged an MTV Europe Music Award win, lent her vocals on a Katy Perry track and has over 7 million monthly listeners on Spotify and she hasn’t even released an album yet! That kind of success and she's only 20, is she being helped by the Russians or something? Last week we were invited to Metropolis Studios by musical.ly -the world’s fastest growing video network, for an intimate performance and to find out more about the latest Scandi-pop princess’s journey to the top.

Like most new artists nowadays Astrid is young, she's only 20 but has been performing for four years now since starring on the Norwegian version of Pop Idol (the only thing I’ve been doing for four years is smoke weed and watch Game Of Thrones) I say this to her and we both laugh. We talk through our favourite characters, she has a woman crush on Daenerys because she doesn’t take peoples shit, this prompts me to ask my first question:

As a young woman in the entertainment industry do you feel like you’ve been treated differently?

Yeah of course! I didn’t really notice until this radio channel in Norway asked boys the same red carpet questions as the girls like; ‘Who are you wearing tonight? How are your kids? Which products do you use?’ These questions have become so normal to me and other women, that I never thought about them. But these guys reacted so badly, they were like ‘What the fuck are you asking me? Take me seriously!’ It’s something we, as women go through in most interviews and I think everyone definitely experiences it.

Who do you look up to in the industry?

I really admire pop acts like Zara Larrson and so many more are so outspoken about feminism. I was very influenced growing up by artist who were outspoken and I think it’s important especially for those with a platform to use it.

Do you feel any pressures as a female artist?

I only know the music scene in Norway and it's a lot about what you look like or what you wear and you’re taken less seriously the more skin you show or the less you wear. I hear people talking down about some really good female artists just because they show their boobs or they have a beautiful body and its their choice and they should be taken seriously.

I don't mind it though, I love clothes , and I like talking about everything! From my music to my shoes size!

I’m suddenly reminded of her age again here. Obviously she's only at the start of her career so doesn’t want to rock the boat, but it seems to me that young people are more vocal and politically engaged than ever, so I wonder why it is still a worry for artists to express their views, so I pry further...

What would you describe as your political beliefs?

I’ve always been a little bit terrified to speak out about my political opinions or politics in general because it's such a sore subject and I feel like people are out to get you if you say something wrong.

I wish there was a culture where if you say something it's ok to be wrong and people will tell you I heard what you said in that interview or wherever have you thought about this or this and offering help etc Instead of this kind of hyper critical environment

I feel like a lot of artists that are outspoken get bullied a lot more so I'm very careful with what I say about politics.

Do you wish that was different ? Do you want to be more vocal?

I wish people in general not only me, (it's not all about speaking publicly) I wish that there was a culture that allowed people to have an open conversation.

She does, however add that she’s against all the bad stuff; Trump, racism, sexism so that's good to know!

We had to end our interview there, the next stop on her tour is Paris and she had to catch a flight. Although brief, our talk was eye opening, not in the sense that I found out that she loves British food and the shopping in Shoreditch, but in the way that Astrid gave me real insight into the realities of being a young and in the public eye.

Until you’re faced with millions of opinions and voices, you can’t say what you would and wouldn’t do because nothing can prepare you for that kind of influence. Like Astrid said we should try and create a more accepting and inclusive dialogue around sensitive subjects or even stop treating them as sensitive, so everyone, especially young people aren’t afraid to voice their opinions.

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